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Martin Luther King Facebook Page Vandalized by Racists
These images were taken off the KingCenter.org Facebook page. Most
of them were put up on King day. It appears that America has a long way to go when it comes to race. Also, someone should be moderating the page to ensure that images like these can’t be posted.
“The Dream” Remains a Vision
On August 28, 1963 during the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. stood on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial and delivered one of the most famous speeches in world history, “I Have A Dream”. What has troubled me over the years is how Dr. King, the visionary, prophet, and revolutionary’s vision, action, and ultimate sacrifice have been hijacked, compromised, and relegated to being those of just a dreamer.
Dreamers are safe. People are comfortable with dreamers. Why? To be a dreamer you must be in a restful state, usually asleep. Dreamers are comfortable in that sleep state. Dreamers are docile, easy to manipulate, and non-threatening. To cast Dr. King in the light of a dreamer allows people to be convinced that action resulting from clear vision is not necessary. It allows the oppressed to be fooled into being patient and non-revolutionary; yours will come by-and by.
We hear those powerful words "I Have a Dream…" What many fail to realize is that Dr. King was no dreamer. He was a visionary, not some abstract thinker or philosopher. He was a prophet and a true revolutionary.
As I understand it, the original title of the “I Have A Dream” speech was “Normalcy—Never Again.” If that is the case, that title, “Normalcy-Never Again” is a real indicator of what was to come. It’s a clear statement that what had been accepted-what had been normal, i.e. oppression in America would no longer be tolerated.
Dr. King the realist states, "…we must face the tragic fact that the Negro is still languishing in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land…” That was no dream; that was the Negro’s reality in 1963 and a clear indictment of the social conditions in America at that time. It continues to be the reality for too many in America today. A reality for those children languishing in inner-city schools, their parents who are loosing their jobs and loosing their homes, and those unjustly incarcerated in American jails and prisons.
Dr. King the strict constructionist referred to the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence as a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. He stated, "It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned…America has given the Negro people a bad check – a check which has come back marked insufficient funds." Again, no dream in that statement, that’s a clear indictment of the human condition!
Dr. King the prophet offered hope by saying, “But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation.” He said this because he clearly understood the power of hope, as a minister he clearly understood the power of faith.
Before Dr. King talks about the dream, he says that we must march ahead. “We cannot turn back. … We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality.” In light of the November 25, 2006 murder of Sean Bell, the March 16, 2000 murder of Patrick Dorismond, the February 4, 1999 murder of Amadou Diallo, and many others, African American’s still find themselves victims of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality, racial profiling, and Driving While, and some times Walking While Black.
The "dream" reference actually comes towards the end of the speech. As Dr. King was close to ending his nine-minute delivery he said, “…so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream.” It’s important to understand that he spoke of the dream in the context of the horrific reality for “Negro’s” and the poor that he had just articulated. What makes the “dream” significant is its juxtaposition against America’s reality, failures, and oppression of its own citizens; their nightmare!
Today, many see President Obama’s historic accomplishment as evidence of the fulfillment of Dr. King’s dream, a “post-racial” America. This is in fact evidence that America has made progress on the long and difficult road towards racial tolerance and acceptance. However, there are still many miles left to travel.
As long as African American men are incarcerated at a rate of more than six times the rate of White men and the incarceration of Black women continues to grow at record numbers, the “Dream” will remain a vision. As long as unemployment among African American’s is more than twice the rate of White Americans and as long as studies show that a Black family’s income is a little more than half that of a similar White family’s income, the “Dream” will remain a vision. As long as African Americans continue to deal with Driving While Black, excessive high school dropout rates, and imbalances in health care, the “Dream” will remain a vision.
Until every American’s reality reflects the very founding principals of this great nation:
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
The “dream” for too many in America will remain a vision.
Dr. Wilmer Leon is the Producer/ Host of the nationally broadcast call-in talk radio program “On With Leon,” and a Lecturer in the Department of Political Science at Howard University in Washington, D.C. Go to http://www.wilmerleon.com or email: wjl3us@yahoo.com.
© 2009 InfoWave Communications, LLC.
Your Black News: Jasmine Watson Fights IHSAA For Right To Play
An area high school student will be in a court of law next week to fight for her right to get back on the basketball court.
Jasmine Watson is one of the top basketball players in Michiana but right now she’s not playing anywhere, because of a high school transfer controversy. [...]
The IHSAA ruled it was done for primarily athletic reasons; a violation of state rules.
But Jasmine, her family, and their supporters, say there’s more to it than that. [...]
“A mother should have the right to make a decision on how to feed her family when faced with (tough) economic conditions,” said Gladys Muhammad with the Martin Luther King, Jr. Foundation. [...]
“The mom was unemployed. She lost her home to foreclosure, her husband was not there, and so she had to move to South Bend where she does have family she does have the best resources,” said Trina Robinson, President of the South Bend NAACP [...]
Your Black Politics: The Law Of The Jungle – By Fidel Castro
The Law of the Jungle
By: FIDEL CASTRO
Trade, within a society and between countries, is the exchange of goods and services produced by human beings. The owners of the means of production appropriate the profits. As a class, they are the leaders of the capitalist state and they boast of fostering development and social wellbeing through market. This they worship as an infallible God [...]
Racism is deeply-rooted in the United States where the mind of millions of people can hardly reconcile with the notion that a black man, with his wife and children could live in the White House, which is precisely called White.
It´s a miracle that the Democratic candidate has not met the same destiny as Martin Luther King, Malcolm X and others who only a few decades ago dreamed of justice and equality. He is in the habit of looking at his adversary with serenity and of smiling at the dialectic predicament of an opponent gazing into space.
The Republican candidate, on the other hand, who likes to enhance his reputation as a belligerent man, was one of the worst students in his class at West Point. He has confessed that he did not know any Mathematics; it can thus be assumed that he knew less of the complicated economic science.
The truth is his adversary surpasses him in cleverness and composure.
Something McCain has aplenty is age, and his health condition is not safe.
I am bringing up these data to indicate that eventually -if anything went wrong with the candidate´s health, in case he is elected- the lady of the riffle, the inexperienced former governor of Alaska could become President of the United States. It can be noticed that she does not know a thing [...]
More At Your Black Politics
Your Black Power: Malcolm X & Martin Luther King Stress Black Pride
If the corporate media had it’s way, Malcolm X and Martin Luther King would be depicted as two tangents, far away from each other as the devil is from God. Fortunately, reality speaks louder than spin, and with the resources available today, it is clear to detect the glaring similarities between two of our greatest heroes: Malcolm & Martin. Not only were they ferocious warriors for human rights, they also both fiercely advocated the obliteration of self-hate in Black people, and the restoration of self-love, unity and community. Watch, in the following clips, how determined these great prophets were, in stressing pride in Blackness.
First up, Martin speaks on the residue of eurocentricity in the psyche of Black folks:
Second up, Malcolm regrets the wretchedness of self-hatred in Black Communities:
From Your Black Power
Your Black News: Tavis Smiley Remembers Iconic Singer, Odetta
ON the same day, on the same steps where Martin Luther King Jr. would deliver his “I Have a Dream” speech in 1963, Odetta—only 33 but already a folk-music force—sang “I’m on My Way.” And she was. [...]
Her final interview—which she gave 10 months before her death from heart failure on Dec. 2—was with PBS host Tavis Smiley. He spoke to NEWSWEEK’s Samantha Henig about his memories of a woman whose optimism brought him to tears:
After our interview, Odetta performed “Keep On Moving It On”—a song whose hopeful lyrics in the midst of a historic election brought tears to my eyes in January. [...]
Off camera, I asked Odetta why she remains hopeful, and she talked about the path that the country had traveled just in her life. She said she could not have imagined back in her heyday that she’d ever be on PBS talking to a black man who had his own show [...]
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